Apple and Verizon partner on robocall protection
Silence Junk Callers is designed to automatically send spam calls to your voicemail without ever ringing your phone.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Apple is working with Verizon to make spam call blocking native in iOS 14, the companies said Thursday. The feature will be available in the public beta of the OS update, though users need to have Verizon's Call Filter Plus. The new Apple feature, called Silence Junk Callers, is designed to recognize calls that Verizon's network identifies as being potential spam or fraud and automatically send them to voicemail so your phone never rings.
Silence Junk Callers is already available to Verizon customers with Call Filter Plus who are part of Apple's Beta Software Program. It'll be rolled out for free later this year to all Verizon customers with iPhones.
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Call Filter Plus costs $2.99 a month for one line, or $7.99 a month for three or more lines. It includes caller ID, spam lookup, a personal block list and a spam risk meter. The free version of the Call Filter app comes with spam detection and a spam filter.
The free version has helped customers avoid "more than 6 billion spam calls," according to Verizon.
